Turn Up Fridays: Queen's Birthday Long Weekend Edition

Long weekend means you'll need more tunes to keep the party going.

Well, well, well. What do we have here? Oh, that silly English lady is having another birthday again? And… Wait… You’re telling me it’s not even actually her birthday? Well, was it her mother’s birthday? No? Well then what are we celebrating?

Answer: This list, it’s eight songs long instead of five because we’re generous.

Second Answer: The long weekend, it’s also longer than usual.

Need I say more?

What follows is a list of songs with which to turn up your Friday evening and commence your Queen’s Birthday Bender… I mean… Weekend. And in case you were wondering whether we intend to include new slices, or old cuts, the answer to that is, as always:

Danny Brown - Smokin’ And Drinkin’ (Boys Noize Smokin Remix)

So, yes, Danny Brown might occasionally use people’s photos without permission and then proceed to be a little bit of a not-particularly-nice-young-man on Twitter, but nonetheless he’s a master at crafting a sufficiently turned up tune. For this cut (taken from Danny’s 2013 album Old), however, he gets the sweet assist from electronic superstar, and all around great guy, Boys Noize. Also, the song is about smoking (keep it green, ladies and gents) and drinking (I’m a cocktail guy, myself) which is the kind of debauchery a long weekend such as this one lends well to. Make this your anthem. Go on, DO IT!

Carnage - I Like Tuh (ft. iLOVEMAKONNEN)

Usually I would only ever advocate kindness and love. Peace, not war, sort of thing. But, of course, a true party can’t be made without cracking a few eggs. So the soundtrack needs to be just the right amount of mean to make the right kind of omelette for your Friday evening, and beyond. Carnage is a DJ coming out of Guatemala, of all places, so the collaboration with LA/Atlanta hybrid iLOVEMAKONNEN is a pretty strange one. But, maybe that’s why it’s so wild. And all the more reason for you to wild out, and get yo’ freak on.

Skepta - Make Peace Not War

Wasn’t I only just talking about peace and war? Oh, that Skepta. He knows me so well, and you ought to get to know him well, since (thanks to the folks over at BBE Touring) the man himself will be hitting Australian shores for a huge headline tour in just a couple months from now. If you’re really lucky, he might even play you this somewhat deeper cut from his catalogue. But if he doesn’t, don’t fret too much - because I am!

Lady Leshurr - Queen’s Speech 4

What? You thought this was a boy’s club, and we wouldn’t pay homage to the Queen in this list? Guess again, friend, Lady Leshurr’s up in yo’ gob with the fourth installment of her Queen’s Speech series (the rest of which are also awesome). Call this your attitude jam, and also the track you’ll play to your friend with the bad breath. Because it’s also kind of an ode to dental hygiene, which thank God somebody finally said something, right?

Vic Mensa - New Bae

So this list wouldn’t feel complete without at least one or two new releases thrown in to the mix. And, if played loud enough, this song is perfect for this list. Having come from one of this year’s hottest music releases, There’s Alot Going On EP, Vic Mensa kills it with ‘New Bae’, and will have you singing along and jumping around before you even realise that you’re wishing that you could be Vic Mensa’s new bae.

Fat Joe - All The Way Up (Remix) (ft. French Montana, Remy Ma, Jay-Z and Infared)

It’s a big enough accomplishment to make French Montana sound listenable, but it’s possibly an even bigger accomplishment to so triumphantly return from ‘he might be dead’ level obscurity to the spotlight as Fat Joe has done on this track. But he’s not even the biggest story here, nor is this sublime beat. It’s the man Jay-Z, aka Hov, aka Mr Carter, aka Mr Beyonce. “Lemonade is a popular drink and it still is,” raps Jay, and you’re hooked. BEY HE SEES YOU!

YG - Still Brazy

Another new slice, this one taken from YG’s upcoming album Still Brazy (due 17). Yup, it’s the title track, and it also goes hard. It might even already be gone. Woah, Keanu Reeves moment. Maybe none of this is real, nothing matters - except the turn up. And YG has your turn up covered. If you want a turn-down service, ask a Hotel Maid. If you want a turn-up service, ask YG. Here’s YG.

A$AP Rocky - Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye II (LPFJ2)

Talk about ending on a high note, this is the epitome of a track which forces you to play it loud. How loud is too loud, you’re wondering, and the answer is no loud is too loud. The bass needs to shake the floor. The floor needs to shake your face. Try and rap along, you probably won’t know the words, but who cares? Rocky doesn’t. I don’t. You won’t. It’s the Queen’s Birthday Long Weekend. The party starts here.